A Holistic Approach to Female Offenders

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By A.T. Wall, II, Director, Rhode Island Department of Corrections

Published: 12/16/2002

Note: This article originally appeared in the Association of State Correctional Administrators' Correctional Best Practices: Directors' Perspectives publication, which is available online at http://www.asca.net/publications.html

Rhode Island's women's prison has implemented an aggressive and holistic approach to the management and programming of female offenders. It defies the punitive and negative culture of many correctional environments by insisting that inmates be treated with dignity and respect and that they be afforded every opportunity to restructure their lives.

As is true of virtually every system, our female population represents a small portion (6.4%) of our over-all inmate census. We recognize, however, that they are a very needy and complicated group. The nexus between their criminal behavior and the set of problems that have shaped their lives is clear and easy to trace. Their crimes are usually non-violent and their terms of incarceration relatively short. They will spend most of their lives in the community. Unaddressed, however, their behavior patterns will lead to further crime and additional sentences of imprisonment. While in custody, they are vulnerable to physical,
sexual and emotional abuse.

In order to meet the challenges posed by this constellation of characteristics, Rhode Island has, over the past nine years, put into place a program with three long-term goals:
To create an institutional environment that is safe, humane and conducive to treatment.
To ensure that services and programming are gender specific, sensitive to all areas of concern to women offenders and thoroughly integrated with each other.
To build essential ties to community groups that will become aware of the needs of female offenders and develop strategies to meet these needs. The services will begin in the institutions and will continue upon release.

A Safe and Supportive Environment

The first goal was fundamental to the success of the other two. It is, in fact, the foundation on which any meaningful programming must rest. The Department has attacked this problem through a multi-faceted strategy. Inspectors aggressively investigate all allegations of mistreatment, whatever the source. A special commitment to acquiring the particular expertise needed to address staff-inmate sexual misconduct was made. The warden of the Women's Prison and the chief of internal affairs formed a team to attend the National Institute of Corrections' training in this topic. Vigorous investigation is accompanied by zero tolerance. Findings of misconduct result in termination and, when the law allows, referral for prosecution.

Recognizing that a pro-active approach is also essential, the chief inspector personally presents a module on sexual misconduct at each pre- and in-service training program. The training is repeated for all staff working in the prison each year.

This strategy, and the tone that it sets, has greatly reduced the number of incidents and complaints. It has encouraged inmates to regard the facility as a place where they will be protected and treated with dignity, and where they can concentrate on programming and treatment.

Holistic and Gender-Specific Services

Against this backdrop, the agency has flooded the institution with services that connect to and reinforce each other. Taken together, they address the complex web of problems and needs which underscore the criminal behavior of this population. This approach begins immediately upon sentencing. The initial classification process is used to individualize attention to women and to design plans that most closely meet their needs. Classification also yields insight into the inmate's stage of readiness for treatment.

Participation in programming is voluntary. Women are encouraged to become involved but are not sanctioned if they do not participate. Every woman who wishes to join a program is afforded the opportunity regardless of her motivation. Eighty-five percent of the inmate population has chosen to take part in some program offering.

Programming is gender specific and emphasizes wrap-around services. In addition to the traditional educational, counseling and health care services, women are addressed as mothers, victims of sexual and domestic violence and substance abusers in need of comprehensive intervention. The facility provides preparation for employment, physical fitness and wellness programs, health education, HIV risk prevention, parenting classes, meditation and specialized counseling aimed at dealing with grief, loss and poor self-esteem. Inmates learn about healthy relationships - how to establish and sustain them.

Involvement of the Community

The premise that women are relational underscores the third goal. Women form relationships and these relationships shape their behavior. For this reason, services are provided through community-based organizations and individuals as much as possible. The agency believes that if trusting, healthy relationships with persons in the community can be created during incarceration, women are more likely to maintain these connections upon release.

Community agencies provide most treatment. Student internships bring large numbers of college and graduate students inside the prison to work with inmates. A nationally acclaimed mentoring program matches strong and sympathetic volunteers with offenders in need of role models and support.

Discharge planning begins immediately upon sentencing. The Discharge Planning Team works with the information obtained through initial classification to develop a formal pre- and post-release program for every inmate. These community-based case managers meet individuals at the onset of their sentences and carry them on caseloads for up to one year after discharge from prison. They help maintain the connection to the same service providers who forged a relationship with the inmate in the institution and will continue to work with her as a client in the community.

The facility has found that many women make progress in the structured safety of the prison. They falter when they are released into the unstructured chaos of their lives on the street without a practical re-entry plan, support network or safe place to live. By building these trusting relationships during imprisonment and then maintaining them following discharge, the transition to freedom is bridged and the chances of a woman's success is vastly enhanced. The presence of so many members of the community serves another purpose as well: it normalizes the environment and alters the undesirable dynamics of a total institution.

Research done for the department in the last few years has been encouraging and indicates that those women who receive treatment are less likely to recidivate. And, when women do re-enter the system, they have remained stable for longer periods of time. The program encourages them to resume treatment where they last left off.

One cannot expect all - or even most - women to change lifelong patterns of destructive behavior with a single stretch of intervention. Rhode Island is dedicated to providing them with the tools they need to continue the effort - both during incarceration and after release. This sustained commitment acknowledges that the process of change often occurs in small increments over an extended time. Although this approach requires patience, the payoff is great. If we can alter the direction of a woman's behavior, we save the expense of future imprisonment, reduce the cost of crime, alleviate the disintegration of families and relieve the burden of state care for families. These outcomes, as well as the less tangible but equally valuable benefits of changed lives, are at the core of our 'corrections' mission.

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